The Committee on Implementation has accused the Ministry of Lands of slacking off in the determination of two land disputes spanning decades.
The Committee now wants the matters taken over by officers in the Directorate of the Criminal Investigation’s Lands Fraud Office to expedite the necessary investigations leading to the implementation of the House Resolutions on the two cases.
In today’s session which was Chaired by Embakasi West MP, Mark Mwenje, the Ministry was scheduled to apprise the Committee on the Implementation of recommendations contained in the two House Reports whose recommendations were adopted in the 12th Parliament.
The first Report addresses a Petition by George Theuri, on behalf of residents of Mowlem Ward regarding alleged irregular allocation of land LR. NO. 11379/3.
The second Report of the Departmental Committee on Lands relates to Public Petition No. 004 of 2021 by Michael Kingi, MP on behalf of Magarini Community landowners regarding irregular extension of Galana Ranching boundary.
Mr. David Nyandoro – Chief Land Registration Officer at Ministry who appeared before the Committee on behalf of the State Department’s Principal Secretary Nixon Korir, absolved the Ministry from inaction on the matter, arguing that the matter falls under the mandate of the National Land Commission, the Directirate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
“Hon. Chair, it is the view of the Ministry that these recommendations fall under the mandate of the NLC, DCI, and EACC, and therefore, these bodies are best placed to provide a status update”, Mr. Nyandoro told the Committee.Not satisfied with the response, Mwenje accused the ministry of dereliction of duty, noting that several titles had been fraudulently issued on the said land by ministry officials.
“The responsibility of issuing title deeds lies with the Ministry of Lands. I have copies of several titles here fraudulently issued by the ministry officials. Why have you allowed the public to continue being conned into buying this piece of land?”, Mwenje posed.Weighing into the matter, Committee Member Hilary Kosgei accused the Ministry of presenting a shallow report and proposed that the DCI takes over the matter.
“Hon. Chair, the response from the Ministry of Lands is very shallow and unconvincing. The Ministry has been home to fraudsters from the ministry officials to their partners outside of the ministry. Could we have the serious land fraud office at the DCI take up the matter?”, Kosgey suggested.Supporting his sentiments, Committee Members Lilian Siyoi, Ntutu Kitilai, Memusi Kanchory and the Committee’s substantive Chairperson, Raphael Wanjala, called on the DCI to take over the matters and to work with NLC in expediting the implementation of the relevant House resolutions.
According to the Ministry, the land LR. NO. 11379/3 originally belonged to M/S Khan Nawaz, Khan Abbas, and Mehdi Khan. Five individuals (Kibiro Karanja, Reuben Kangara, Keingati Waiharo, Peter Gacheru Kingara, and Njuguna Kimani) were appointed to represent 225 individuals interested in buying the land.
These five agents formed Kiambu Dandora Farmers Company Limited and transferred the land to this company, but a dispute arose when they refused to transfer it to the other members. The disgruntled members formed Dandora Housing Scheme Ltd and filed a court case, which resulted in a ruling by Justice Sachdeva on September 8, 1983, conferring the land to the 225 contributors plus the five agents.
The Ministry had previously informed the Committee that the land belonged to Dandora Housing Scheme Limited and that a provisional title was issued to them following the court ruling. This provisional title was later fraudulently transferred to Falcon Kenya Ltd, a private company owned by Mr. Peterson Waithaka.
The Departmental Committee on Lands recommended that the National Land Commission (NLC) compensates the 225 members of Dandora Housing Scheme Limited and Kiambu Dandora Farmers Company Limited.
They also recommended that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigate allegations of fraud and forgery related to the land’s ownership with a view to prosecuting any culpable persons.
Turning to the Report on the Petition presented by former Magarini MP, Michael Kingi, the Committee expressed concern over the inordinate lengthy time the dispute has remained unresolved. Mwenje directed that the National Land Commission be seized of the matter, and determines the initial boundaries on the disputed parcel of land.
With relation to the dispute, the Departmental Committee on Lands, in its report dated May 11, 2022, recommended action regarding boundary determination, urging the Director of Surveys (DoS), in collaboration with ADC, Kilifi County Government, NLC, and community representatives, to undertake a repeat exercise to determine the boundary between Galana Kulalu Ranch, ADC 1 FR. 119/86, and Adu Kamale Adu Chamari Adjudication Sections within six months.
Kingi who was present during the meeting decried that the matter had taken long to be resolved noting that it forms part of historical injustices on land affected the residents of the coastal region.
Mwenje directed that the DCI takes charge of the two matters and reports their findings to the Committee in 90 days. He further ruled that the Ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission gets seized embark on implementing the House resolutions on the two cases, and to report to the Committee within the same period.
